Manager – Operations & Liaison

ICRISAT seeks applications from highly motivated and qualified professionals for the position of Manager – Operations & Liaison to provide conceptual and strategic support to the Director General’™s office.  The incumbent will work very closely with the Director General and will have a direct report to the Director General. The position is based in Patancheru, Telangana.  

This position is open to staff members of ICRISAT only.

ICRISAT is a non-profit, non-political organization that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa with a wide array of partners throughout the world. Covering 6.5 million square kilometers of land in 55 countries, the semi- arid or dryland tropics has over 2 billion people and 644 million of these are the poorest of the poor. ICRISAT and its partners help empower these disadvantaged populations to overcome poverty, hunger and a degraded environment through better agricultural production systems.

ICRISAT is headquartered at Patancheru near Hyderabad, India, with two regional hubs and eight country offices in sub-Saharan Africa. ICRISAT envisions a prosperous, food-secure and resilient dryland tropics. Its mission is to reduce poverty, hunger, malnutrition and environmental degradation in the dryland tropics. ICRISAT conducts research on its mandate crops of chickpea, pigeonpea, groundnut, sorghum, pearl millet and finger millet in the arid and semi-arid tropics. The Institute focuses its work on the drylands and in protecting the environment. Tropical dryland areas are usually seen as resource-poor and perennially beset by shocks such as drought, thereby trapping dryland communities in poverty and hunger and making them dependent on external aid. Please visit – www.icrisat.org

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Evaluate and examine critical inputs being sent to the Director General in preparing for meetings with necessary information
• Oversee meetings, appointments and travel for the Director General and the operations of the DG’™s Office
• Planning, organizing, and following up on the ICRISAT Governing Board meetings in collaboration with Board Secretary
• Facilitate relations with Government offices to assure the Director General that team has appropriate accesses and linkages
• Foster harmonious and productive relationships between the ICRISAT Director General and donors, centers, institutions and governments
• Focal point for VVIP visits and all major high-level institutional events/activities to ensure the reputation of the Institute is upheld and provides positive experience to visitors
• Inward and outward facing support to the Director General in transition into the OneCGIAR Global research partnerships
• Review and process documents to ensure service standards are maintained
• Prioritizing tasks, meetings, and actions by following up on strategic decisions arrived at from time to time
• Prepare annual budget and activity plan for the office of the Director General and liaise with Corporate Services for drafting/revising institutional policies from time to time by coordinating with relevant departments for necessary input
• Analyze and present operational efficiency of Director General’s office.

 Qualifications and requirements:

• A minimum of 10 years experience in a similar role with a Master’s degree in Business, Administration or any other related field
• Experience with handling multiple projects and in a multi-cultural environment in a similar role
• Excellent written and verbal skills
• Experience in Stakeholder management and ability to adapt to challenging situations
• Attention to detail and organizational skills
• Excellent communicator and a team player
• Strong working knowledge of MS office suite

 General:

This is a contractual role for a period of 36 months (3 years’€™).

How to apply:

Applicants should apply on or before 24 July 2023, with their latest Resume, and the names and contact information of three references that are knowledgeable about their professional qualifications and work experience. All applications will be acknowledged; however only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

ICRISAT is an equal opportunity employer